Forum:Armies of Gielinor advice
This forum is for tips & strategies for Armies of Gielinor. If it involves free-to-play units only, place it under the "F2P" heading. If it uses Member's-only content (except in the opponent) place it under the "P2P" heading. Please make the tips bullets, and the give each strategy its own section (with a header). F2P Tips *The KBD is a horrible idea. There is no situation where it will be a better choice than multiple units of a lesser cost. Always wait for the other side to buy it, then throw out red dragons and hunt down the KBD; once the KBD gets piled by red dragons supported by other units (mages or rangers especially) it is doomed. Once it is eliminated, the player who had the KBD will be hard-hit. *''Leveling up units is vital.'' '''Units can have their full hp increased by last-hitting an enemy unit. For each knockout blow a unit deals, it adds 1 to both current hp and full hp (i.e. if the unit is 18/20 and scores a last hit, it will go up to 19/21). This can be used on any unit except the KBD and it is perfectly possible to make a unit start out fairly weak (say, 20/20) and end up notably stronger (say, 30/30) so long as is it does not get killed in action. This leveling-up is permanent, unlike Druid-boosting. *Get a '''lot of mages and rangers. If you want even more, you can put druids between them for extra strength. About 5 mages and 5 rangers, and some druids, can take down several red dragons and the KBD in a single turn. Oli4burggraa 16:21, September 15, 2009 (UTC) *Mages are devastating when used correctly. Have them form the second line of your army, attacking powerful melee units such as the Greater Demon and Moss Giant, but keep them away from anything that can attack them. *Bridge blocking is to place two mages/rangers on either side of a bridge, adjacent to the square that leads up to the bridge itself. With some melee units in front such as the Necromancer/skeleton combo, Greater Demon, or Black/White knights, it's hard to pass through the defense without a KBD. *Necromancers and a skeleton are excellent at defending bridges against a warrior-based army, as they can only send in a single unit that kills the skeleton but gains nothing. -Estaban555 *One necromancer can make an excellent army meat shields. Skeletons late-game die instantly, but soak up the attacks of expensive enemies like Greater Demons or Knights and cost you nothing. -Estaban555 *Necro/skele meat-shields are extremely effective as they are perpetually self-replenishing - so long as the Necromancers do not get killed (protecting them is crucial for the success of this technique). A second shield can be used behind the first, made out of barbarians; however, this will be taxing on mana (as skeletons are free, so long as there is a supply of casualties). *Aim to take control of portal(s) in the centre of the map. This allows you to attack the enemy base(s) without having to send troops from your first portal hidden in the corner/side. Another option would be to use portal mages, although this only allows units from one god to be created and is very vulnerable until deployed. In maps with centre portals, fight hard to get it ASAP, but once you capture it, begin pulling in as much as you can using it, as being 1) a portal and 2) in the centre, it will invariably be fought over very hard, and the casualties will be incredible (excellent for skeleton hordes); the fight will be severe with team games, but with an FFA the centre portal would likely take up most of the battle. This is due to its immense importance as it gives a massive benefit to the player who holds the centre portal. (It also makes them the centre of attention and more than likely subject to massive attacks as players/teams struggle to dominate the centre). *Cheap flying units, especially the Saradomin Owl, are great in the beginning. They are able (if Druid-boosted) to take down weak fighting units such as the Paladin and Werewolf. Send them ahead of your advancing Barbarians to provide some protection from the beginning units. *Later on in the game, the Gnomecopter becomes particularly useful, although it is very expensive (450 mana, Guthix 3) for its representative strength; Avianse (400 mana, Neutral 2) is slightly cheaper and has a lower favour requirement, for essentially the same effect but at the cost of lower speed (range 1, speed 6). *An attacking unit has an extra offensive bonus. If a black knight attacks a black knight with both having 25 strength, the attacking knight will deal more damage than the defending knight. This advantage can turn the tide of a war. --Vandalism Sucks 04:52, November 30, 2009 (UTC) *Get Barbarian Women. They are the only available unit for F2P that is an Archer. They are excessively useful against Flyers, Mages, regular Barbarians, and Helper Units, as long as they attack first. *Some maps have a island theme were all starting portal can only get to the centre island by a one square wide bridge; block it with cheap flying units or necro/skele combo. *Using a mixed-force army is a good idea. For the opening sequence, go for the Druid-Owl-Barbarian combo; later, go for the Mage-Knight-Avianse-shield set; eventually you can upgrade to Greater Demon if so desired. Use the meat shield to soak up the damage, then use the mages, knights/demons and avianses to clear out resistance. *Avoid mid-/high-level skirmish units as they are easily killed if cornered. Terrorbirds and Unicorns are great for surprise charges, but are easily taken down if they run into a pile of anything above 20/20 that isn't skirmish. *If your portal area is being attacked en masse, note the class of attackers, and spam mid-level units like knights, mages or rangers (for ranger-, warrior- and mage-based attacks, respectively) to hold it off. *Warriors attacking first will always have an advantage towards mages, acting against the combat triangle. F2P Strategies *One Strategy is to spam enemies with Rangers,Because they are Cheap,Fast,Strong and can easily kill Birds and Mages. *One Strategy is to Fight the enemy until there is a Grave Yard of bones near your portal(That may sound crazy,but it works very well)When the time is right,counter strike the enemy by getting Necromancers to Turn the bones into Skeletons.(This will make your army bigger because both sides got heavy casualties) *One Strategy is to use a druid to buff your Barbarian chieftain to 15 hp so he captures towers in one turn.(This will make easy Mana) *One strategy is if there are lots of mountains around the centre tower, place lots of avianses in the mountains, as you only receive 60% damage there, and they will not die quickly, allowing them to last and kill lots of people. *Start with an owl, druid and barbarian chief and barbarians (if applicable) all around the druid, to boost them. For early battles, place a druid along the way so units going out to fight are boosted. Since Zamorak units are identical in function to Saradomin units (but swap the unicorn for the greater demon and lack the owl) only use Saradomin for the owl; then switch straight over to Zamorak for the base army. Use necromancers to form skeleton meat shields as stated above if there are enough bones; if not, use a cheap (but non-renewable) barbarian meat shield. *Werewolves/paladins make good opening hordes, but quickly become obselete when the knights enter the game, and will usually go down in droves. For opening warrior advances, avoid the Guthix F2P units as they cost more, unless there is a lot of forest. *Use the meat shield to protect your heavy melee units until they are in a position to smash the enemy; always hide weaker mages/rangers behind the shield. Use flyers to pick things off; avianses or copters are good; avianses are 50 mana cheaper and require one less favour level and are Neutral. Gnomecopters on the other hand has 5 more health and they are faster. *Once you are able to use higher level units, try to use them in lieu of starting units, e.g. using avianses in lieu of owls; knights in lieu of werewolves/paladins. P2P Tips *Your main goal should be to simultaneously capture structures and to build an army. If your army has a slight advantage, especially on a small map, it might be a good idea to exploit that advantage and capture structures, then fall back on it and fix any losses. *A songstress and archers is the most devastating combo in the game. Counter it with an Ogre shaman or use your own. *You should always summon a Druid in the first one or two turns. They add 5 strength to each unit, which in the long run can save you thousands of mana. *By standing on a structure your opponent has captured, you halve the amount of mana and victory points they receive for that structure on their next turn. *A songstress with grenwalls are dangerous as a 50 mana unit hits a 7 and 4 of them does 28 damage, a deadly force. Each god has his/her own advantages. As shown above, there are many threats from each of the member gods. Listed below are some of the many devastating combos. Seren #Songtress + Grenwalls > (Bandos) Goblins, Hobgoblins > (Menaphite) Thug, Warrior of Ichiden #Songtress + Rangers > (Bandos) Goblins, Ogre, Jogre, Hobgoblin > (Menaphite) Thug, Warrior of Ichiden #Songtress + Elf Lord > (Bandos) All Units except Ourg > (Menaphite) All Units #Falcons - Deadly Airforce Bandos #Ogre Shaman + Hobgoblin > (Seren) Songtress + Rangers > (Menaphite) Bebadin Archer #Ogre Shaman + Hobgoblin > (Seren) Falcons > (Menaphite) Scabarite Mage #Ourg > All Titans Menaphite Pantheon #'''Locust > (Seren) Falcons > (Bandos) Goblins, Ogres #Scabarite Mage > (Seren) Falcons, Elf Pikemen, Elf Shield Maiden, Lord probably due to poison #Scabarite Mage > (Bandos) Goblins, Ogre, Jogre, Hobgoblin, Cyclops #Kalphite Queen - Great Wall and Distraction Unit but expensive. #Elemental of Elidinis - Great Wall for slowing down enemy units, but '''REALLY expensive Seren has the advantage of boosting units. Bandos has the power of offense and defense. Menaphite has the unique ability to poison and also has the tactical advantage of stalling, which could make a great effort. Once a member has all 3 gods, deadly combos shown below can be formed. #Dwarf Cannon + Ogre Shaman + Songtress + Priest - Deadly Sniper #2 Locusts + 2 Falcons + Druid - Great Air Force #Songtress + Scabarite Mage + Elf Rangers - Ultimate Ranged Advantage #Ourg + Kalphite Queen + Icyenes - One man army tactic P2P Strategies *A good strategy is to use a druid to buff your chieftain to 15 hp so he captures towers in one turn. *When using Bandos, make sure to have some kind of protection from rangers and mages, such as units from another god or an ogre shaman. General multiplayer tips Ultimate war technique ''': Requires: * Ourg x 1(optional)=800 mana * Cyclops x 1(Required)=500 mana * Ogre shamen x 2(1 will do 2 is just to increaes the range of shielding)=400 mana x amount * Elfen archer x 1(Required)=350 or * A scaribite mage x 1(Required)=350 * Kalphite queen x 1(Optional)=600 Mana required: * Full set:(Best used for epic maps) 800+500+800+350+600=3050 * Required set:(Best used for small maps up to large) 500+350+400=1200 Method: * Summon the Ogre shamans. Put a ourg and Kalphite Queen. * All units that get near you will suffer so bad. * If the enemy has rangers the shaman will counter them. * Melee people the ourg and cyclops will kill them. * Flyers the rangers can take care off. * Dragon's will be useless against this technique. * The elven archers take care of any enemy flying units. The main thing here is that anything that comes too near, will be trapped by the kalphite killed the rangers. '''War Tier Defense Technique Requires: *1 Druid *1 Songtress *1 Ogre Shaman (Recommended) *1 Priest *1-3 Owls or Falcons (Falcons recommended due to 10 speed) *1 Dwarf Cannon (2 Recommended) *4-6 Bandos or Seren Warriors (Hobgoblins recommended) Method: #Druid the Falcons and get the dwarf cannon in a good sniping spot. #Send in the falcons to pile on anything weaker or the same strength as a Knight. #Set up the Dwarf Cannon and bring general cover with hobgoblins, to protect a retaliation of falcons. #Place Priest and Druid next to the dwarf cannon. Place songtress next to dwarf cannon. #(Only if using Ogre Shaman) Put Ogre Shaman in area weakest from protection. #Snipe away with the dwarf cannon. Keep on refilling the falcons to pile on units nearby. #After every 2-3 turns, restock on hobgoblins. Save mana for an invasion. If the dwarf cannon is placed in the middle of the map, it will have maximum effectiveness. While defending the dwarf cannon(s), bring in other units to invade. This way, holding the middle will be easy and the enemy, being attacked from two fronts will have no idea what to do. Cannon defence Requires: *Dwarf cannon x2= 500 mana *Dwarf cannon x1 (not setup)= 250 mana *At least 10-23 strong melee units, 3-6 mage units and 2-5 range units. (long range mages and rangers if possible) * Ogre shaman x1 (optional if you want to increase your chances of success)= 300 mana Method: 1. Set up a dwarf cannon at a spot where enemies are constantly passing through. 2. Surround the cannon with half of your melee units, this is to protect it. 3. Put your rangers and mages at an area which will support the cannon. 4. Protect your rangers and mages with 1 quarter of your melee units. 5. If any enemy units try to attack the cannon kill them with the melee units. 6. Put the remaining melee units behind the cannon on standby. Execpt for titans, protecting the cannon should be easy. 7. If any mages or rangers try to attack the cannon, kill them with your rangers or mages. 8. If titans bother you, kill them with your other cannon. 9. If any units die, replenish with the units on standby. if you run out of melee units to replenish, teleport some in and try to get them to the cannon as fast as possible. If a KBD comes, get EVERY unit (execpt for dwarf cannon) to retreat and set up another dwarf cannon somewhere else. (although after the cannon is destroyed, killing the KBD is your biggest priority. If you have ogre shaman, put a cloud on top of the cannon to protect it from ranged attacks. Lure and ambush Requires: *a unit that can survive a lot of damage x1. *Mage unit or range unit x2 *melee unit x3 Method: 1. Send your threatening unit near the enemy. 2. Lure the enemy back to your base. (in groups if your lucky) 3. when your threatening unit is close to the attack point, find a path that leads behind your lured target and send your melee units behind. 4. When your lured target(s) come to the attack point, use your mages and rangers to distract them then use your melee units to finish them off. (note. this does not work if your melee units are near their portal) KBD disposal ' Requires: * rangers x3 * mages x2 * melee units x6 Method: 1. Weaken the KBD with your mages and rangers until half health. 2. Swarm the KBD with your melee units. The only thing preventing you killing the KBD are the other units so be careful. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.49.227.102 (talk • ) (Dke-Sasuke) and tidied up by OrbFu. 'Using the KBD Requires: *The KBD(2000 mana) *Ogre Shaman x 1(300 mana) *Goblin x 10(500 mana) This strategy can be useful late on in the game,when mana is plentiful. 1.Summon all the units.If there is any spare mana,use it to summon more goblins. 2.Send the KBD into battle,with the shaman covering it.Surround the shaman and KBD with goblins,so they cannot be killed. Now,nothing at all can hit the KBD or shaman.Just make sure to have a bandos portal nearby,and reinforce this strategy with more goblins when neccesary. Cheap high hits *Songstress x1 300 mana *Elven Archer x3 900 mana *Grenwall x6 300 mana : Optional *Druid x1 150 mana : This strategy is useful to inflict high damage at a very cheap price. : Method: #Summon you're units. #Put you're grenwalls in front of your songstress while putting ur archers behind. #When you encounter an enemy use you're archers to kill flying units and mages. #Use you're grenwalls to kill barbarians and low level warriors. Gang up on knights to kill them. #Optionally you can send you're archers in front of the grenwalls to weaken the enemy. Campaign Strategies General Tips *Your score is decided on how much damage was taken and how many turns it took you to win. To get a gold medal you need a score of over 1000, to get a silver medal you need to get a score of over 500 and anything below that is a bronze. *The trinkets may be re-used, and should always be used. Vampyric blood works very well on a black knight, gargoyle or greater demon, waders work well with a barbarian chieftain or normal barbarian, and rain of fire and greater rain of fire can be used to kill enemy owls and barbarians. *Shrine of Zamorak is best used on the first turn. This allows, on some maps, an early ranger or black knight, which can turn the tide of a game. *The AI has a preference for killing Necromancers above any other unit. This can be abused to an infinite extent, such as luring powerful flying units toward a team of rangers and mages. *Skeletons are useful in trapping powerful units such as the Lion, as long as there are hoards of skeletons. *The Sea Slug is best used to capture special helper units like Monks and Druids to give special bonuses to your units. It is definitely not useful against paladins and other units with equal power to their Zamorak counterparts. --Vandalism Sucks 00:16, December 23, 2009 (UTC) Zamorak Returns The Burgh One strong opening move is as follows (requires access to Wader accessory Rangers and Sea Slugs - access to Black Knights and Vampyre Blood potion and Gargoyles is optional but immensely helpful): Waki Miko 09:12, November 29, 2009 (UTC) :I tried that opening twice and both times there was a hellhound just to the left of the portal. I changed the strategy as follows to use a necromancer instead of a warewolf. :* Turn 2: Use Greater Fire Rain on the closest hellhound :* Turn 3: Don't summon the warewolf. :* Turn 4: After capturing the hellhound and moving it to the village to heal, summon a necromancer and move it as far down the road as you can. Also, move the ranger to the starting village so it can start healing sooner. :* Turn 5: After moving the chieftain, move the necromancer north of him, against the wall where the road turns 90 degrees. :* Turn 6: Move the necromancer close to the portal, to lure the hellhound. :* Turns 7+: Summon a black knight, move him next to the closest hellhound, use vampiric blood on him, and attack the hellhound. Use necromancers to lure as needed, keep the chieftain out of range of the hellhounds, and keep attacking with the knight until there is enough mana to summon a gargoyle. :* Towards the end: If you're lucky, by the time the ranger and hellhound are healed one of the CPU-controlled hellhounds should be portal-camping the Seaside Mages. At this point, it's simply a matter of bridging through the water to bring rangers/knights over, or just attacking with gargoyles and using them to replace the portal-camping hellhound. If you're unlucky, however, the portal-camping hellhound will move off right before you can take over and there will be an explosion of mages. : --MarkGyver 00:12, August 7, 2010 (UTC) Conquest of Hallowvale Have one barbarian capture the villages on the way, and have one head straight to the portal. It is incredibly important that you get the portal first. When Saradomin's starting units are defeated, he will usually spam Iceyenes. To counter this, spam rangers, and capture towers until he is forced to stop. Recommended God Combinations God Overviews Saradomin: A highly balanced god, with units from almost every class. Saradomin is known as being the only god that provides healing units. One of the three "bread-and-butter" gods, Saradomin is flexible for most situations and compliments more specialized gods well. Saradomin has very few weaknesses, and is very often seen in games of all skill levels. Zamorak: Like Saradomin, Zamorak is a "bread-and-butter" god with units from most of the classes. Zamorak's unique units are somewhat slower and more heavily oriented for strength than Saradomin's, but have much more powerful abilities. Unfortunately these slow units are often high-priority targets, so you may not be able to make use of the full benefits of Zamorak until the mid-to-late game. Guthix: Most players consider Guthix to be absolutely essential for any game. This is because the Druid allows barbarians to capture villages in a single turn rather than two. This greatly increases the threat posed by barbarians and makes it much easier to secure structures. Not only that, but Guthix has several useful units like the Void Knight, which makes Guthix a good choice for combat as well. You will rarely play an opponent who does not use Guthix. Seren: Some players believe Seren to be almost as vital to winning as Guthix. A single Elf Songstress can turn the tide of a battle, and many Seren units possess better abilities than those of other gods. However most Seren units are very costly, which makes it hard to build up a large army with Seren alone. Bandos: The lack of ranged, flying, or magic-using units makes Bandos a rather inflexible god on its own. But a combination of a very diverse selection of warriors and two very powerful helper units makes Bandos a good choice for many situations. Bandos is best used in combination with other, more balanced, gods that can offset its lack of ranged units. Menaphite Pantheon: The last of the "bread-and-butter" gods, the Menaphite Pantheon offers units from many classes. Having the only units capable of causing poison, the Menaphite Pantheon can cause serious problems for an opponent. However, the unique units for the Menaphite Pantheon are somewhat lackluster or difficult to use, making this useful god somewhat rare. Combinations Note: The following is based on a general consensus among active players and should not be considered authoritative. Opinions on gods are unique to each player, and particular combinations are based as much on taste as any other reason. Guthix. The Druid is so useful that Guthix is pretty much assumed to be a choice in any game. So while combinations like Saradomin-Seren-Bandos that exclude Guthix are extremely powerful, they will not be discussed due to their lack of widespread use. Seren/Saradomin: This combination makes use of the balanced Saradomin units and the sheer power of expensive Seren units to maximize both damage and adaptability. Seren/Bandos: This combination focuses on the special abilities of the Ogre Shaman, Cyclops, and Elf Songstress to provide both defense and high power. Saradomin/Bandos: This combination emphasizes the defensive capabilities of the Ogre Shaman and the long-ranged abilities of Saradomin's units to create a dangerous cluster of units. Zamorak/Menaphite Pantheon: These gods, with Saradomin, are considered the "bread-and-butter" gods that provide the balance necessary to deal with many situations. Either of these gods could be substituted for Saradomin in the list above, based on the individual player's preferences on unique units.